A big thick viscous wine. Dark color with a nose of oak, raisins and bramble fruit. The taste was very interesting with big notes of prune juice, raisins, vanilla and big oak! A great cherry mid-palate with an almost savory goat cheese finish. I know that sounds crazy but the cheese aspect was always there. This is a kind of a nerd wine. Excited about it's evolution over the next years.

Decanted for 2 hours

Befloyd commented:

6/15/12, 2:15 PM - I know... I saw your post before I tried it and was quite surprised! For me, wines that are unfined and unfiltered have a thick or viscous mouthfeel for me. This bottle did not feel thin at all. With all the upfront oak and dried fruit it seemed to be on the brute force side rather than then finess side for me. Did you get this savory goat cheese finish? It was quite interesting. I have three more bottles and It will be exciting to see if any of them will be more like your tasting notes! I also had quite a bit of floating sediment, did you?

----I took a peek at your cellar list, you have a fantastic collection! Great job on finding some Kosta Browne Pinot! I have not had the opportunity to try it yet but I am on their waiting list! Great to talk to ya!

As of this tasting note this wine is not yet released to the public but I believe it will sell out quickly at the winery. I tasted this wine along side the 2007 during a long day of tasting in Napa. I visited 5 wineries and 1 collective. Ridge Ridge was last on the list and usually my pallet is worn out by the day and my enthusiasm is beaten to a pulp but the Fortis REALLY ROCKED and the 2008 Fortis was the clear winner of the day which involved no less than 40 wines. Exceptionally well made with pure red fruits and balanced tannins. Right from the pour you can pick up warm cherry pie and hints of toasty wood and fresh flowers. In the mouth the wine is just velvety with strawberries, plums and vanilla. Tannins are subtle yet firm. Finishes amazingly long.

At $140 winery price and limited production it puts this wine along top wines from Napa, I think it can go against the $500+ culty stuff.

Remember you don't drink the label.

Befloyd commented:

3/31/12, 10:24 AM - I tried it in Napa last September and have one bottle (via wine club) in my cellar! Looking forward to celebrating a special day with the 2008 Fortis. A beautiful effort from Pine Ridge!

Dark red color. Creamy butterscotch and vanilla nose. A little disappointing at first taste but it opened up some as night progressed. Never really fulfilled my expectations based on nose. A nice wine but a little pricy for just a nice wine.

Befloyd commented:

3/27/12, 10:57 AM - I had a very similar review! Do you think this wine will get better with age or do you think it will continue on it's 88 point run?

Noticeably brown around the edges. Not enough fruit to support the wood -- this tastes like it's well on its decline. Given other reviews, possibly a bad bottle? Note that we did not decant and only tasted it over 2-3 hours so perhaps it required more airing; but I don't think there's enough fruit left for this to age.

Befloyd commented:

3/10/12, 12:53 PM - Yes it is quite oaky in the beginning but I decanted the whole bottle in a decanter for two hours and the oak blew off and the fruit really came alive. If you have another bottle try it. Hope it helps.